American actress and singer Tisha Campbell, also known as Tisha
Campbell-Martin, is best recognized for playing Gina Waters-Payne in
“Martin” (Fox, 1992-1997) and Janet Kyle in “My
Wife and Kids” (ABC, 2001-2005), from which she picked up an
Image Award and a BET Comedy Award. She also had roles in NBC's “Rags
to Riches” (1987-1988) and Lifetime's “Rita Rocks”
(2008-2009) as well as recurring roles on “All of Us” (7
episodes, 2004-2006) and “Everybody Hates Chris” (4
episodes, 2008-2009). She has also appeared in several films,
including “Little Shop of Horrors” (1986), “School
Daze” (1988), “House Party” (1990, earned an
Independent Spirit nomination) and the sequels “House Part 2”
(1991) and “House Party 3” (1994), “Sprung”
(1997), “The Last Place on Earth” (2002) and “Zack
and Miri Make a Porno” (2008). The performer began acting on
television and on stage as a child. As a singer, Campbell released
her debut album in 1993 called “Tisha” and performed on
the soundtracks of “Little Shop of Horrors,” “School
Daze” and “Sprung.”

Campbell has been married to Brooklyn born actor Duane Martin
since 1996. They have two sons, Xen Martin (born 2001) and Ezekial
(born 2009). The family currently resides in Los Angeles.

Campbell is best friends with Tichina Arnold, her former costar in
“Martin.” She has also developed a good friendship with
actress Vivica A. Fox.

Autistic Child

Childhood and Family:

The oldest of four children, Tisha Michelle Campbell was born on
October 13, 1968, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, to Clifton Campbell, a
coat factory worker, and Mona Campbell, a gospel singer. When she was
three years old, her family relocated to Newark, New Jersey, where
they struggled financially. A gifted youth, Tisha won a talent
contest at age 6 and began landing roles in children's shows on stage
and television. After graduating from Newark's Arts High School, she
headed to Los Angeles to build her career.

Tisha married actor Duane Martin (born August 11, 1965) on August
17, 1996. The couple had a son they named Xen Martin, on August 8,
2001. Their second son, Ezekial Czar Martin, was born on September 8,
2009. Commenting on her son Xen, who has autism, she stated,
“Autistic children are extremely bright if you can connect to
them and bring them into our world. Socially it's really hard for
them, but it can happen. Xen is doing great socially because we
caught it very early.”

Martin

Career:

Tisha Campbell began singing in church as a child. After winning a
talent contest, the young girl appeared in various children's
television shows, including PBS' “The Big Blue Marble,”
“Unicorn Tales,” “Kids Are People Too” and
“Captain Kangaroo.” She then auditioned in New York City
and landed the starring role in the off-Broadway musical “Really
Rosie.” She also appeared in the Broadway plays “Mama, I
Want to Sing,” “The Me Nobody Knows” and “Betsey
Brown.” Campbell's big break arrived when she landed the role
of Chiffon in the musical film adaptation of “Little Shop of
Horrors” (1986), which was directed by Frank Oz and starred
Rick Moranis, Ellen Greene and Steve Martin.

After moving to Hollywood, Campbell made her television series
debut as a regular on the NBC series “Rags to Riches,”
where she starred as an adopted child named Marva. Starring Joseph
Bologna as Nick Foley, the show ran from March 1987 to January 1988.
After the series ended, Campbell was cast as Jane Toussaint in the
Spike Lee film “School Daze” (1988), opposite Laurence
Fishburne and Giancarlo Esposito, and appeared with Morris Day and
Clark Johnson in a failed pilot “Heart and Soul” (also
1988). She went on to appear in the dramatic film “Rooftops”
(1989), opposite Jason Gedrick, Troy Beyer and Eddie Velez, the Eddie
Murphy/Nick Nolte vehicle “Another 48 Hrs.” (1990), a
sequel to the 1982 film “48 Hrs,” and Reginald Hudlin's
“Boomerang” (1992, also starred Eddie Murphy). Campbell
also offered a notable portrayal of Sidney in “House Party”
(1990), a comedy written and directed by Reginald Hudlin. She was
nominated for an Independent Spirit for Best Supporting Female for
her performance in the movie and reprised the role for the sequels
“House Party 2” (1991) and “House Party 3”
(1994).

Apart from her film roles, Campbell also worked in various
television projects in the early 1990s. She played Jiwanda in the
television pilot “Moe's World,” in which she met her
future husband, fellow actor Duane Martin, and appeared in episodes
of “Shannon's Deal” (1990), “The Fresh Prince of
Bel-Air” (1991) and “Roc” (1992). She also had a
two episodic role in “A Different World” (1991, as Josie
Webb) and “Blossom” (1991, as Toni).

However, Campbell did not enjoy major success until she was cast
in the role of Gina Waters, the level-headed and stubborn, but
forgiving, girlfriend (later wife) of disc jockey Martin Payne
(played by Martin Lawrence) in the popular Fox sitcom “Martin.”
Premiering on August 27, 1992, the show quickly appeared as an
audience favorite and became one of the networks' highest rated shows
throughout its five season run. Campbell, who first met Lawrence on
the set of “House Party,” originally planned to stay
until the final season but quit in November 1996 and filed a sexual
harassment suit against Lawrence and the producers of the show. The
suit was eventually settled out of the court and Campbell returned to
the series for its final episodes. The actress collected two Image
nominations in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Series for her work on “Martin.” While still working on
the show, Campbell launched her debut album, “Tisha,” on
January 4, 1993, under Capitol Records. The album enjoyed average
success and produced the singles “Push” and “Love
Me Down.”

Campbell returned to the big screen with a supporting role in the
1996 action comedy “Snitch,” starring William McNamara,
and a voice role in the installment “Homeward Bound II: Lost in
San Francisco” (also 1996, as Sledge). The following year, she
starred with Rusty Cundieff, Paula Jai Parker and Joe Torry in the
comedy “Sprung,” for which she also performed “Don’t
Ask My Neighbor” with Tichina Arnold, for the film's
soundtrack.

Campbell next guest starred in Fox's sitcom “Between
Brothers” (1997) and her husband's series “Getting
Personal” (1998). She then appeared in the Showtime television
film “The Sweetest Gift” (1998), opposite Helen Shaver
and Diahann Carroll) and received a recurring role on Showtime's
series “Linch's” (1998), as Rosalee Lincoln. She next
played Olivia, Vince's wife, in “The Object of My Affection”
(1999), an episode of ABC's short lived “Wasteland,” and
Joyce in an episode of “Sabrina, the Teenage Witch”
called “The Halloween Scene” (2000). She also received an
unaccredited part in the 2001 comedy film “Down to Earth,”
a remake of the 1978 film “Heaven Can Wait.” It was
followed by a starring role in the movie “The Last Place on
Earth” (2002), for director/writer James Slocum.

It was also in 2001 that Campbell revisited the television series
realm as a regular character on the family sitcom “My Wife and
Kids,” which was created by Don Reo and starred Damon Wayans.
Portraying Janet Marie Kyle, the matriarch of the Kyle family and
mother of three children, opposite Wayans as Michael Richard Kyle,
she was nominated for Image Awards in the category of Outstanding
Actress in a Comedy Series four times and won the award in 2003. She
also won a 2004 BET Comedy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy
Series and earned a 2005 BET Comedy nomination for Outstanding
Directing for a Comedy Series for her directing effort on the episode
“The 'V' Story” (2005). Campbell remained with show from
its debut on March 28, 2001, to its cancellation in May 2005.

From 2004 to 2006, Campbell also had a recurring role on the
sitcom “All of Us,” which starred her husband. In 2008,
she appeared in two episodes of The CW sitcom “Everybody Hates
Chris,” a role she reprised in two more episodes in 2009, and
made a cameo appearance in “Zack and Miri Make a Porno,”
a romantic comedy that was written and directed by Kevin Smith and
starred Seth Rogen and Elizabeth Banks. Still in 2008, Campbell also
joined Nicole Sullivan, Richard Ruccolo, Natalie Dreyfuss, Kelly
Gould and Raviv Ullman to star in the comedy series “Rita
Rocks,” which debuted on Lifetime on October 20, 2008. As Patty
Mannix, a postal worker and Rita's best friend, she was nominated for
Image Awards in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a
Comedy Series in 2009 and 2010. The show was finally canceled in
January 2010 because of low ratings.

Recently, in 2010, Campbell appeared with Debra Missing and Carrie
Fisher in the television movie “Wright vs. Wrong.” She
has also completed filming the motion picture “Pastor Brown”
(2010), for director Rockmond Dunbar. She will then portray Miss
Reznick in the upcoming Disney Channel Original movie “Lemonade
Mouth” (2011), opposite Bridgit Mendler, Adam Hicks and Hayley
Kiyoko.